Breeding for a better environment

Results of a new study by Wageningen Livestock Research, the Netherlands, show that breeding reduces environmental impacts of animal products by about 1% per year. That percentage is achieved without specific selection on environmental traits, but as an indirect response to selection based on the current breeding goals. The Dutch university conducted the study on the contribution of breeding to the reduction of the environmental impact of pigs, but also of broilers, laying hens and dairy cattle